Extend Google Sheets with SpaceX Data

Interact with SpaceX data from Google Sheets through macros, custom functions, and add-ons. The CData API Server enables connectivity to SpaceX data from cloud-based and mobile applications like Google Sheets. The API Server is a lightweight Web application that produces OData services for SpaceX.

Google Apps Script can consume these OData services in the JSON format. This article shows how to create a simple add-on that populates a Google Spreadsheet with Capsules data.

Set Up the API Server

If you have not already done so, download the CData API Server. Once you have installed the API Server, follow the steps below to begin producing secure SpaceX OData services:

Connect to SpaceX

To work with SpaceX data from Google Sheets, we start by creating and configuring a SpaceX connection. Follow the steps below to configure the API Server to connect to SpaceX data:

1. First, navigate to the Connections page.
2. Click Add Connection and then search for and select the SpaceX connection. 👁 Selecting a data source (SQLite is shown)
   
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SpaceX.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the SpaceX Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\SpaceX.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for SpaceX (see below).

   SpaceX API Profile Settings

   No authentication is required to access SpaceX data — the SpaceX API is publicly available. Simply set the Profile connection property to the path of the SpaceX profile file.

   👁 Connecting to a datasource (SQLite is shown)
   
4. After configuring the connection, click Save & Test to confirm a successful connection.

Configure API Server Users

Next, create a user to access your SpaceX data through the API Server. You can add and configure users on the Users page. Follow the steps below to configure and create a user:

1. On the Users page, click Add User to open the Add User dialog.
2. Next, set the Role, Username, and Privileges properties and then click Add User. 👁 Configure a new user
   
3. An Authtoken is then generated for the user. You can find the Authtoken and other information for each user on the Users page: 👁 API Server user settings
   

Creating API Endpoints for SpaceX

Having created a user, you are ready to create API endpoints for the SpaceX tables:

1. First, navigate to the API page and then click Add Table . 👁 Add tables
   
2. Select the connection you wish to access and click Next. 👁 Select the connection (SQLite is shown)
   
3. With the connection selected, create endpoints by selecting each table and then clicking Confirm. 👁 Adding tables from the connection (SQLite is shown)
   

Gather the OData Url

Having configured a connection to SpaceX data, created a user, and added resources to the API Server, you now have an easily accessible REST API based on the OData protocol for those resources. From the API page in API Server, you can view and copy the API Endpoints for the API:

Retrieve SpaceX Data

Open the Script Editor from your spreadsheet by clicking Tools -> Script Editor. In the Script Editor, add the following function to populate a spreadsheet with the results of an OData query:

function retrieve(){
 var url = "https://MyUrl/api.rsc/Capsules?select=Id,CapsuleSerial,CapsuleId,Status";
 var response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(url,{
 headers: {"Authorization": "Basic " + Utilities.base64Encode("MyUser:MyAuthtoken")}
 }); 
 var json = response.getContentText();
 var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
 var a1 = sheet.getRange('a1');
 var index=1;
 var capsules = JSON.parse(json).value;

 var cols = [["Id","CapsuleSerial","CapsuleId","Status"]]; 
 sheet.getRange(1,1,1,4).setValues(cols);

 row=2;
 for(var i in capsules){
 for (var j in capsules[i]) {
 switch (j) {
 case "Id":
 a1.offset(row,0).setValue(account[i][j]);
 break;
 case "CapsuleSerial":
 a1.offset(row,1).setValue(account[i][j]);
 break;
 case "CapsuleId":
 a1.offset(row,2).setValue(account[i][j]);
 break;
 case "Status":
 a1.offset(row,3).setValue(account[i][j]);
 break;
 } 
 }
 row++;
 }
}

Follow the steps below to add an installable trigger to populate the spreadsheet when opened:

1. Click Resources -> Current Project's Triggers -> Add a New Trigger.
2. Select retrieve in the Run menu.
3. Select From Spreadsheet.
4. Select On open.

After closing the dialog, you are prompted to allow access to the application.

You can test the script by clicking Publish -> Test as Add-On. Select the version, installation type, and spreadsheet to create a test configuration. You can then select and run the test configuration.